Eating more plants like vegetables, fruits, nuts, and beans may help protect your heart because they give you more good nutrients and less of the bad fats that can harm your heart.

Eating mostly plants like vegetables, fruits, and beans can help people who are at risk for heart disease or already have it lose weight and shrink their waistline, which might make their heart health better.

If you eat mostly plants like vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains—without too much processing—your heart stays healthier, you get all the nutrients you need, and it’s also better for the planet.

Eating more healthy plant-based foods like vegetables, fruits, and beans is linked to a lower risk of heart disease—even when you account for common health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. This suggests these foods protect your heart in ways that go beyond just fixing those common issues.

People who eat more plants and less meat and dairy tend to have an 8% lower chance of getting heart disease, at least among U.S. health workers.

Not all plant foods are the same for your heart—eating things like whole grains and nuts may help lower your risk of heart disease, but eating sugary drinks and white bread might raise it.